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When industrial action goes wrong
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7369195.stm
It seems, although there are obviously two sides here, that the union wouldn't agree to a fair settlement with the company and so the shareholders just decided to pull out, sell the assets and invest elsewhere. Over the last few years there have been a lot of strikes and nearly all of them are tactical, BA practically has one every year around holiday season, there's one in Grangemouth which could cause fuel shortages across much of the UK, the teachers went on one because they're 'special' public sector workers that deserve more than anyone else in the public sector, timed to coincide with GCSEs.
Hell, what would happen if the doctors waited for a patient to be on the operating table and then went on strike, or soldiers waited for some conflict to break out and go on strike... and so on.
I understand why there is a need for industrial action, it means workers get a fair deal and so on, but I think by the very nature of a union they will always have an agenda and maybe in this case they should have settled, especially since according to the story 1/3 of the workers who have now lost their jobs weren't even members (and if you've seen voting records for some unions, it tends to be about only 30% who actually vote on whether industrial action is necessary).
I'm in two minds, but I hope the Unite officers are acting humbly to those who lost their jobs who were perfectly happy with what they were being paid.
It seems, although there are obviously two sides here, that the union wouldn't agree to a fair settlement with the company and so the shareholders just decided to pull out, sell the assets and invest elsewhere. Over the last few years there have been a lot of strikes and nearly all of them are tactical, BA practically has one every year around holiday season, there's one in Grangemouth which could cause fuel shortages across much of the UK, the teachers went on one because they're 'special' public sector workers that deserve more than anyone else in the public sector, timed to coincide with GCSEs.
Hell, what would happen if the doctors waited for a patient to be on the operating table and then went on strike, or soldiers waited for some conflict to break out and go on strike... and so on.
I understand why there is a need for industrial action, it means workers get a fair deal and so on, but I think by the very nature of a union they will always have an agenda and maybe in this case they should have settled, especially since according to the story 1/3 of the workers who have now lost their jobs weren't even members (and if you've seen voting records for some unions, it tends to be about only 30% who actually vote on whether industrial action is necessary).
I'm in two minds, but I hope the Unite officers are acting humbly to those who lost their jobs who were perfectly happy with what they were being paid.
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Comments
Striking should be the very last option.
I don't blame the investors in the company - who wants to put more money into a company that's got workers on strike.